“Why don’t you call her now?” Erin said.
I perked an eyebrow. “Right in the middle of coffee?”
“Why not?” she said. “I didn’t get to talk with her about it much either, so I’d like to listen in.” She yelped suddenly. “Facetime her!”
It didn’t seem like a horrible idea. I had been procrastinating it after all. I pulled out my phone and navigated to Jada’s number and pressed the button to video chat with her. A few moments later Jada’s face, bronzed skin and warm brown eyes crowned by her gorgeous head of curly hair that appeared brown, but had streaks of blond throughout, filled the screen.
I flipped around so that Erin was in the screen with me. “Hi Jada!” I greeted.
“Hey! Aw, I miss you guys!” Jada said.
I pouted my lips. “I know, I miss you too. How are things?”
Jada flashed an image of the morning sun shining over the ranch. There were several different animals roaming the pastures, and a couple of men tending to them and the farm. They were full-bodied and muscular, wearing tank tops that showed off their arms well.
“Not a bad view,” Erin joked.
“Tell me about it,” Jada said. “They make it hard to focus. Hey, Sascha, remember the guy I was telling you about from high school, Ben?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Your first true love, right?”
Jada pointed at one of the guys out laying feed for the pigs. “That’s him.”
Erin and I each gasped. “Seriously?” I said. “What are the chances?”
Jada moved the camera back to her face. “Right? I’m in real trouble out here, ladies.” Off-camera, someone called out to Jada. She looked over, waved towards them and then looked back at the camera. “Guys, I’m sorry. I have to go, but can we please schedule a time to have a full skype session soon?”
“Yes please,” Erin and I said in unison.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Erin said. She elbowed me gently in my ribs. “Or Sascha for that matter.”
“Glad to know I have lots of options,” Jada said with a giggle. “Love you guys, talk to you soon!”
“Love you. Bye!” I said, and a second later, the call dropped.
I moved back to my chair as Erin laughed. “She’s really in trouble, no one knows better than us.”
I held up my coffee cup in a ‘cheers’ pose. “To us and the complicated, wonderful relationships we’ve found ourselves in.”
Erin clicked her empty cup against mine and then stood up from her chair. “I have to use the bathroom. Can you get me another coffee? I’m gonna regret it later, but I have to prepare for a few cases tonight, so I’ll be pulling an all-nighter.”
“Sure,” I replied.
Erin walked off and I stood up from the table with her cup and walked over to the barista behind the counter. I waited for him to call me over and then handed over her cup. “She just had a regular coffee, medium roast. Can I have a refill?”
“Of course,” he took the cup. “Just a dollar.”
Before I could hand the dollar over, a familiar arm reached over me and handed a debit card to the barista. “Add it to mine, along with a tall mocha, please.”
I looked up and Carson was standing behind me. His normally sweet smile was gone and he looked downright distressed. He had huge bags under his eyes like he hadn’t slept in days. I know we’d been at it like rabbits lately, but he always slept like a newborn afterwards. I didn’t think this exhaustion had anything to do with our relationship.
“Hi,” I greeted. I craned my neck and he met me with a kiss.
“Hey,” he grumbled.
The barista set our cups of coffee down on the countertop and Carson grabbed his and turned to leave without another word. I reached out and grabbed his hand and pulled him back.
“Wait,” I said. “You seem really out of sorts, what’s wrong?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. I’m just in a hurry.”
“The only places I’ve ever seen you hurry to are the lake house for sex or that sushi restaurant you like,” I joked. “Come on, tell me, what’s going on?”
Carson pulled his arm away. “I told you it’s nothing.” He gave me a quick peck on the forehead and turned away again. “Talk to you later.”
That was weird. I watched him rush out of the coffee shop and out of sight, with a sense of dread in my body. It wasn’t like him to behave that way. Something was definitely wrong. I took Erin’s coffee back to the table and opened my phone.
“Thank you,” Erin said as she returned to the table.
My mind traveled to Carson’s odd behavior. I wondered if Ian or Ryland knew anything about it. As soon as I was done with Erin, I was going to have to call them. I was really worried.